Housebound (2014)

Truly Dreadful Film

best movie i've ever seen.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Kylie Bucknell is a troubled girl in New Zealand. She gets arrested for trying to break into an ATM. She is sentenced to house arrest and forced to move back in with her mother Miriam. Miriam suspects the house is haunted. Strange things start to happen. Amos sets up her ankle bracelet and is a paranormal enthusiast. Dennis is the psychologist assigned to her case.There are surprising moments of light humor in this odd little horror. It's not particularly scary. It has a bit of fun like the Cornetto Trilogy. The lead character is not necessarily a nice girl but she still maintains some rooting interest. The story doesn't completely hold together but the last act has plenty of fun.

After an ATM robbery gone hilariously awry, petty thief Kylie (Morgana O'Reilly) is sentenced to house arrest at her childhood home, with her slightly daffy mother (Rima Te Wiata) and her basically mute stepfather (Ross Harper). It's a dismal, dilapidated place filled with musty old paperbacks, ample crawl spaces, dial-up internet and...a ghost? What do you do when you're in a possibly haunted house, but you can't leave due to the monitoring bracelet on your ankle? What's worse: the supernatural or prison? "Housebound" has a strong, clever premise, which is the reason anyone would give this a go in the first place. I know it's what drew me in. (The fact that it's streaming on netflix, which means one can watch it with practically no effort, only sweetened the deal.) And director/writer Gerard Johnstone has a gift for setting up all kinds of unexpected twists, red herrings and other surprises, which kept me intrigued despite the film's slow patches.Unfortunately, those slow patches exist. And despite the clever premise, twisty storyline and unique characters/situations, the movie never quite engaged me. I was never hooked by it, merely casually interested throughout. It's an interesting movie, but never a great one. It's also never remotely scary, or even creepy. The setting and cinematography are pretty dingy and dismal, which doesn't help matters much either. There's a certain lack of energy here and the performances are serviceable without making much of an impression. Honestly, if not for the movie's impressive cleverness, I don't know if I would have stuck with it to the end.Still, I liked "Housebound" overall. As I said, it is clever and manages some genuine surprises. I just wish the filmmakers had done more to hook me and get me emotionally invested in the story and characters. If they had, maybe I would have jumped when they wanted me to, or been closer to the edge of my seat. As is, however, I never had more than a casual interest in anything happening on screen. I even got up to get a snack without pausing the movie, which is never a great sign during an initial viewing.

If you don't know or can't decide what genre of film to watch, Housebound is the one, great storyline involving horror, comedy, action, drama, mystery, crime and probably some others too. You think a film mixing that many genres up which be a terribly made film, but this film is other wise. The movie was a great surprise, I was expecting another same old horror, but it turned out to be more than horror, it was just brilliant. Cinematography wasn't anything amazing but it great for this type of film and worked well. In the tone of the film actually kept me on edge but it didn't frustrate me though. It actually made the film very enjoyable and surprising. Moving on to the music and sound, well truly, I don't think even took much notice of it, maybe that just means it wasn't as outstanding soundtrack but it also wasn't terrible enough me to notice it. The acting was absolutely great. So in the end, this film was a surprising thrill to watch. I recommend to anyone who can't decide what to watch or what genre to choose. But also to those who want a surprise and a mystery without without it hurting your head.

This movie turned out to be a frightfully delightful treat!! Wonderful chemistry, endearing pathos, refreshingly natural acting, ingenious camera work (did I detect a bit of a Sam Raimi homage going on?), and enough scary pop-ups to fulfill one's daily dose of cardio. And all of this cinematographic deliciousness served up without need of gratuitous sex, extraneous violence, or heavy-handed moralizing. My family and I (including youngsters) were charmed by this little gem (see wot I did there?). We shall certainly keep an eye out for upcoming projects by this talented writer/director (and his perfectly selected cast and crew).Watch it today. Then watch and enjoy it again.A true prize!!